Improvement in cotton-gins



W. A. PURDOML Cotton-Gin.

Patented Nov. 4, 1856.

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jjfe S N. PETERS. Phol WILSON A. PURDOM,

PATENT @EEICE.

OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-GINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 16.022, dated November4, 1856.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILsON A. PURDOM, of the city of Jackson, in thecounty of Hinds and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and usefulMode of Presenting New Surfaces of Cotton to the Action .of the Saws inthe Cotton-Gin; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in whichFigure 1 is a longitudinal elevation with a part of the apron cut away.Fig. 2 is a trans verse section; Fig. 3, the cylinder, or a longitudinalsection of the same; Fig. 4, a view of the inside of the corrugatedapron.

The letters'all refer to the same parts in the different drawings.

A is the corrugated cylinder B, the corrugated apron;-O, the end pieces;D, the shaft operated on by the eccentric plate E, which revolves bymeans of the pulley F; G, the bearings; H, the ginsaws, and i the ribs.

The nature of my invention consists in directing the entire roll ofcotton longitudinally, nearly an massc, alternately to the right andleft, so as to present new surfaces of cotton for the action of thegin-saws, and at the same time getting rid of the spiral or twistingmotion of the cotton, as well as the acute indentations in thecotton-roll, produced by metallic plates, and thus avoiding the dangerof forming nitters-so much deprecated by manufacturerswhile I prevent anaccumulation of the seed at one end of the cotton-box, or the banking upor clogging of the cotton at either end, and enable all the saws to doefficient work at the same time. This longitudinal, lateral, orreciprocating motion of the cotton-roll is produced by a corrugatedcylinder, (or an approximation to such cylinder, a transverse section ofwhich latter would represent an oval appearance, with the corrugationsmost protuberant on the thickest or widest part,)

. which may have a revolving motion, on pivots or otherwise, with theroll of cotton 1mm passu, independent of the lateral motion, and whichcylinder is placed within or outside of the roll of cotton, and isattached to a corrugated apron on the inside of the breast of the gin,with solid end pieces, by which the machine is made to act as a unit,holding the cotton I together. Itis by means of these corrugations (or,as they may be called, waves, knobs, or undulations,) on the cylinderand apron that sufiicient adhesion of the cotton issecured to cause theentire roll of cotton to move with the machine or attachment. Therequisite motion I produce in three different ways namely, by means of aright and left hand screw-thread cut on the same pin or shaft, and onthe same surface, the end of which pin or end pieces, and is operated bya fork which has sufficient motion in a socket to permit an eccentric atthe proper time to direct it into the right or left hand screw-thread,as may be necessary. Another mode is by means of a shaft working inscrew -like guides with a three-quarter drum or lantern-shaped pinion onthe end, operated by a small pinion which reverses the motion of thesemi-drum-pinion when it reaches an open space in it, alternatelyworking on the inside and outside of the imperfect drum pinion, the openspace (onefourth or more of its circumference) in the drum-pinionpermitting the little pinion to pass through and operate on the oppositeside of the cogs. Or, in lieu of these, and as more economical, the samemotion is produced by an eccentric plate or wheel (see E) revolvingagainst the end of the shaft of the cylinder, or a protuberance from thecorrugated apron, or the end of a vibrating'bar attached to saidmachine, while a spring, K, at the other end presses it continuallyagainst the said eccentric plate.

Having thus described my invcntion,what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent. isf 1. Giving to the cotton to be ginnedwithin the feed-box and before the saws H a reciprocating motion bymeans of the corrugated cylinder A, or a modification of such cylinder,and the corrugated apron B, or either of them separately, or theirequivalents, so that the cotton will pass back and forth slowly in bulk,or nearly so, before the saws, thus presenting a fresh surface to theaction of the saws throughout the entire length of the saw-cylinder,without leaving any of the saws idle, and without the accumulation ofseed at one end of the box or the banking up of the cotton at eitherend.

2. For the purposes aforesaid, the said cylshaft works against the apronor one of the r inder A, or its equivalentwhether it is placed eratedoonj ointly with, the said cylinder A or Within 01' outside of thecotton-roll, and Wh8l3h61 not. it is permanently attached to the apron Bor not, also whether it revolves or not, 01' whether PD RDOM' thatrevolution is continuous or intermittent. Vitnesses:

3. For thepurposes clescribed,the corrugated J OSEPH VRIGII'I, apron B,or its equivalent, whether it :is op- I. H. PATRICK.

